


Interpersonal Hygiene

by amathela



Category: Life
Genre: F/M, Porn Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-27
Updated: 2010-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-16 17:48:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amathela/pseuds/amathela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Charlie and Dani showered together (sort of).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interpersonal Hygiene

01.

He doesn't mean to get turned on. He isn't even thinking about it at first; Dani's his partner, and she's in trouble, so he helps her into the tub, turns on the water and holds her upright as the spray soaks the front of his shirt. But she's shivering against him, making desperate noises and saying his name and he can't control his reaction, breathing out hard as it hits him. He backs off, and she pushes him away, and between them he gets enough distance that he can mostly think straight again.

He tries not to think about it, tries to pretend he won't be replaying the whole thing in technicolour in his head for weeks to come.

"We don't ever have to talk about it," he says afterwards, and it's not just for her. They don't need to talk about it; it is what it is. That might be zen. More likely it's just bullshit.

He'll be a good partner one day, and a good man, but for now he's only okay.

-

02.

"Crews," Dani says. Charlie doesn't have a chance to return the greeting before she rushes past him, and after a beat he gets up to follow her.

"Good morning, Reese," he says. Studies her, looks back at the nectarine sitting on his desk. He should have brought it with him. "Am I missing something here?"

"What could you possibly be missing?" she asks, and it's the most attention she's given him since she walked in. And then it's gone again, and she's walking, and he's following.

"Change of dress code, maybe?"

She stops again at that, looks down, and rolls her eyes. She's a good eye-roller; she's barely even facing him, and he still feels it.

"I went for a run this morning."

"All the way here?"

"Something like that." A pause, and then she relents. "My car is parked down the block."

"I see." He does, he thinks; it's a tough case, and she likes to let off steam.

Charlie doesn't like to let off steam. He wonders if maybe he should invest in steam power, convert steam into something useful, into energy. That would be something.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she says, and he nods, making his way back to his desk. He picks up the nectarine, squeezes a little before he bites into it; it's a little late in the season, but it tastes sweet, and he closes his eyes just for a second. When he opens them again, his gaze slides over the case file on the desk, over some innocuous detail on the open page, but it's enough to jog something.

He can hear the shower running even from outside the locker room, and he tries knocking. Once, and then again, louder, but either Dani doesn't hear or she's ignoring him. Either one is likely. He hesitates for a second before going in, looks around quickly, and turns his back on the empty changing area.

"Reese," he calls, and for a second, he thinks maybe she didn't hear him.

And then she calls, "Crews?"

"Yeah," he says. He can still hear the water running, so he speaks loudly, not quite yelling. It would probably help if he was facing her, but he doesn't really think that's appropriate. "Do you remember when we talked to Natalie -"

"Crews," she says again. She sounds pissed. And wet. "What are you doing in the women's locker room?"

"It's empty," he says, by way of explanation. Or - not explanation, but maybe by way of excuse. "Except for you, of course. And me. But you're in there, and I'm in here, so -"

"Crews." Yep, definitely pissed. "Get out."

"Right," he says. That's reasonable. "Okay. But do you remember when Natalie said -"

"Wait," she says. "Natalie the girlfriend?"

She doesn't sound pissed any more. That's better.

"Natalie the girlfriend," he confirms. "Said she was working the night of the murder."

"She was lying?" No surprise in her voice, just mild curiosity, and he can hear the water shut off.

"No, she was telling the truth."

"Then what -" Dani's wearing a towel when she comes out, her hair wet and dripping onto her shoulder. "Turn around."

"Right," he says. He's not even sure when he turned around in the first place.

There's silence for a minute, and he waits. Finally Dani says, "If she was telling the truth, why are you here?"

"That's the interesting part," he says. And then, not turning around, he holds the nectarine out behind him. "Want a bite?"

Something hits him, soft and wet, and he looks down to see a towel lying at his feet. He doesn't turn around. Closes his eyes, just for good measure.

"Crews -"

"Don't you want to know the interesting part?"

"Get out," she says, and he counts to ten, opens his eyes, and leaves.

He doesn't take the towel with him, because he isn't stupid, and he actually likes having Dani as his partner, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think about it.

-

03.

He doesn't see the hose until it's turned on them. He doesn't have time to get out of the way, and by the time he catches up with what just happened, their suspect is already disappearing back inside the house.

"Well," he says. He looks at his soaked shirt and tie, at Dani's shirt, clinging to her. He tries not to stare. "I did not see that one coming."

"No kidding," Dani says, and when he doesn't say anything else, she says, "I'll go around back. Make sure he doesn't come back out the front."

He moves forward at her command, and keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the front door.

-

04.

The water hits him hard, and Charlie closes his eyes against it, scrubs at his face and chest and arms. He keeps his mind carefully blank, and when that doesn't work, he replays the past hour in his head; arriving at the scene, entering the premises, the spray of chemicals. He doesn't let himself slip out of the moment. This is a decontamination shower. He is alone.

It doesn't last long, and he breathes in when it's over, breathes out slowly. Dani emerges at the same time he does, wet and shivering and trying not to, and he catches her gaze, holds it steady.

"That wasn't exactly the plan," she says, and he smiles, just a little.

"No," he says. "Not exactly."

"We'll take that stuff to the lab, get it analysed."

"They're already packing it up."

She nods. Her breath is coming slowly, drawn out and shaking, and he pretends not to notice.

"So, those were probably our guys," she says after a minute, and he nods.

"Probably."

"We're going to catch them."

Of course they are.

"Come on," he says. He's still looking at her eyes; it's safer. "Get dressed. I'll buy you a burger."

-

05.

"What happened to your car?" Dani asks, and he shrugs. It's not important. He was not attached to the car.

"Stolen."

"Seriously?"

The look she gives him is full of _you paid that much money for a car and didn't install a decent alarm system?_ and he lets it slide over him. It was a bad neighbourhood. He locked the car.

He's pretty sure he locked the car.

She rolls her eyes, but she doesn't say anything else about having to drive him home, and he doesn't think she minds. Especially when they pull up, and she turns the car off, and doesn't shove him out of the door at the first opportunity. Her expression is drawn tight; it's been a long day. He waits.

"I need a shower," she says finally, and Charlie nods, taking it in.

"Okay," he says.

"The water's busted at my place."

She could go to Tidwell's, if Tidwell's still existed. Well. It probably still exists; he hasn't disappeared. Charlie thinks maybe it's Tidwell and Dani that doesn't exist.

Dani hasn't said anything about, and he hasn't asked. But he picks up on things. And Tidwell's not hard to read.

"I have a shower."

He doesn't think about the offer before he makes it, or about where the offer's coming from. He doesn't really expect her to accept it.

She follows him out of the car.

She doesn't head straight upstairs once they get inside, and he doesn't direct her. Ted is still in Spain, if he got that far, and Rachel is long gone. The house is quiet.

"Banana?" he offers, mostly just to say something.

Dani shakes her head. "No."

She's still standing in the doorway, as if she's unsure about being here, and maybe that's what seals it. He closes the distance between them slowly, gives her time to back out of whatever this is, and then his hands are on her waist; not holding her, just resting there, and she leans forward into him.

"Crews," she says, and he kisses her. Lightly, until she kisses him back, and then he presses harder, backs her up against the doorframe. He grips her waist more tightly, feels her hands wind their way up to tug at his tie, and then he's joining her, unclasping her belt and setting it softly aside, helping her with his own. She grinds her hips against his, and he grits his teeth and tries not to lose it, fumbles in his back pocket for his wallet as she tugs at his zipper.

"Reese," he says, and he pauses for a second, wanting to ask if she's okay.

She doesn't let him. "Jesus, Crews," she says, and it's good enough for him. He rolls the condom on, slides her underwear aside, and her sharp intake of breath sounds almost like a hiss.

"Dani," he says, but quietly, not sure if he wants her to hear. She hooks an ankle around the back of his knees, urging him on, and he complies, his hands on her hips, holding her up against the doorframe. She doesn't close her eyes, and he isn't sure if he expected her to. He's glad that she doesn't.

He holds on until he hears her breath catch, feel her tighten around him, and then he's done, sagging against her, resting his forehead on hers. For a minute, neither of them move, and then he has to, slipping the condom off and turning around as quickly as he can, like he's afraid she's going to leave.

She doesn't.

"That was ..."

"Yeah," he says, before she can say what it was, before she can analyse it and maybe decide it was a mistake. It is what it is, he thinks, and then, no. That's too simple.

It is a lot of things, but maybe that discussion can come later.

"I could definitely use a shower," she says, and it takes him a second to remember.

"Upstairs," he says, directing her to his. "First bedroom on the right."

"Right," she says. She's already dressed, but not composed, and she starts upstairs like she's on a mission.

And then she stops, halfway there.

"Well," she says, looking back at him almost challengingly. "Are you coming?"

Charlie grins, and follows her.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Interpersonal Hygiene (The Get Fresh Flow Mix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1595741) by [victoria_p (musesfool)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/pseuds/victoria_p)




End file.
